


Everything Glittering Under the Ground

by supercantaloupe



Category: Hadestown - Mitchell, Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, I have no idea how to tag this., i'll tag more stuff as it comes up and is appropriate, it's a portal au yall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-09-28 16:54:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20429279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supercantaloupe/pseuds/supercantaloupe
Summary: When there's no work to be found in town, Eurydice jumps at the offer of a paid job as a test subject at the big research tech company outside the city, HadesTech. Orpheus has his worries; she assures him she'll be fine. And she was right, at least, until she wasn't. But Orpheus isn't going to sit around and wait in dread. He's going to go out there and find her and bring her home safe himself. But he has no clue what he's getting into, and even less of a prayer.





	1. Road to Hell

The door closed not unkindly as Eurydice returned home. Her feet, even once she’d shed her boots at the door, fell heavy and loud with frustration. Her bag she shrugged off her shoulder and let slide to the floor with an angry but unfortunately hollow thud. Orpheus looked up from his paper and guitar; he had been writing a new song, but seeing his fiancee come home every night was always a much-needed and much-wanted distraction. He didn’t even have to ask how her day went. It was obvious. 

Eurydice moved to the small fridge in the tiny kitchen of their little apartment and peered inside, studying its measly contents with a grumble in her throat and stomach. Making her choice, she collapsed into a chair opposite Orpheus at the table. 

“No luck?” he asked.

“No luck,” she replied, sighing. “I swear there isn’t a single ‘help wanted’ sign up all over town.”

Orpheus set his guitar down. He leaned over and set a hand gently on Eurydice’s arm. “We’ll find something,” he said, though even with his perpetual optimism there was a certain lack of confidence to his voice. “I can go out tomorrow -- I’ll ask around some bars, I’ll bring my guitar-”

Eurydice cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Stay and work on your song. Please,” her eyes were tired, but kind. “I’ll find something.” She moved to stand, to trundle off to bed after a long day. Orpheus found her hand with his and gave it a squeeze.

“If you insist. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

* * *

Eurydice sat at the table. She poured over a newspaper, a cup of lukewarm coffee, and her worry. The sound of Orpheus at the door was the only thing finally able to snap her out of her trance.

“Where were you?” she scolded as he walked in. He unwound a scarf too thin for the weather from his neck and smiled at her. 

“Playing,” he replied simply, setting his guitar down.

“You lost track of time?” Eurydice asked. It was late.

“I had a gig,” he fished around in his pockets. “The di ve downtown wanted live music.” Sitting down at the table, he produced a few crumpled bills and a scattering of coins from his pockets. “It’s not much but everything helps… Any luck today?”

Eurydice managed half a smile and half a frown at once -- her specialty. “For once, I think so.” She flipped the newspaper around, folded and creased it crisp. Sliding it over to him, she tapped an ad with her finger. 

“‘Seeking subjects to conduct equipment testing...participants must be mentally and athletically fit...contact HadesTech office to apply,’” Orpheus read aloud, his grin melting.

“It’s paid. Better than playing bars, too,” she added, sipping her coffee and raising an eyebrow at him.

Orpheus set the paper down and combed a hand through his hair. “I dunno… HadesTech?” He sighed. “I’ve never gotten a good vibe from them.” 

“You’re worrying too much,” she said, resting her chin in her hand. 

“We could use the money…”

“We  _ need _ the money.”

“I just don’t think…”

“Orpheus,” Eurydice placed a hand on his. “it’s the best offer I’ve found. Pretty much the  _ only _ offer. I’ll call, and I’ll go try it out. If it doesn’t work I’ll quit and we’ll keep looking.”

Orpheus was silent for a moment. He fidgeted with her fingers in his hand as he thought. He couldn’t deny it, they did need the job. Something about it seemed wrong, somehow too good to be true.

  
“I’ll be okay.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” 

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. She smiled, a warm and tender smile with which he’d fallen so deeply in love so long ago.

* * *

Monday morning, Orpheus met his lover at the door. It was early, far earlier than he normally rose, but nerves drew him to see Eurydice off to work. He kissed her hand and she squeezed his in return. 

“I’ll be home on Friday,” she assured him. “I promise.”

“Promise,” he replied. “See you then.”

When Friday came he held her so tightly in his arms it was as if he’d nearly lost her. She laughed, flattered and amused at his worry. They had a real dinner that night -- simple, but more than granola bars -- with the money from Eurydice’s new paycheck.

* * *

The next week passed by: Eurydice left early Monday, returned late Friday. She always smelled of fresh paint, rubbers and plastics, electric charge. Climbing into bed with her those nights he wondered if he’d ever get used to that smell.

* * *

Several weeks came and went the same. Orpheus found himself waiting, eagerly, anxiously every Friday night for her return. 

One night, she doesn’t.

An hour passed after she usually returned. Orpheus worried, but waited.

Two hours.

Three.

Five.

A whole evening he sat at the table, til the weight of his eyelids was too heavy for him to bear, and he fell asleep in his chair.

_ She must have gotten a sudden assignment,  _ he told himself.  _ She’s staying over the weekend. Like overtime. They’ll pay her double. She’ll sleep in a warm bed, they’ll feed her well. She’ll come home safe next week.  _

* * *

But the next Friday came and went with no sign of Eurydice. And the next, and the next. How long had it been without her? No word, no voicemail on the phone, no letter in the mail. Orpheus’ optimism began to run out. He could no longer pick up his guitar and focus enough to sing. He barely ate, barely slept, thought hardly of anything but Eurydice. Maybe it was a foolish whim but he was certain she’d kept her promise, that she was okay, that she would return to his arms safe and warm. 

During his outings at day, he searched everywhere for some clue. Any flyers for test subjects, any news of HadesTech. Asking around he found almost no one who had any clue what he was talking about. Those who knew of the company hadn’t much good to say. 

There were rumors, he heard.

No way to know if they were real, or if he’d imagined them.

But rumors haunted him still. 

_ Those who go, they don’t come back _ .

Still Orpheus waited.

* * *

One morning, he’d had enough waiting. 

Before the sun awoke for the day, he slid into his sandals. He turned the lights out as he left, locked the door. He didn’t know how long, how far to go, but he was going to get there one day. 

He set out down the long road to HadesTech. 

_ Keep on walking and don’t look back. _

* * *

How long had he been walking? Orpheus had lost track, or maybe he hadn’t been counting in the first place. His feet ached, but he was numb to the feeling by his will. 

After a long and arduously empty trek he came upon a parking lot, a building. It looked like an office complex and a small factory all in one, with a sleek  _ HadesTech _ logo emblazoned above its entrance. But it seemed still, empty. Too many cracks in the pavement, too much grime on the windows, too many weeds along the ground. His stomach turned.  _ How long has it been since I’ve seen Eurydice? Did I let her come to a place so desolate, or has it only become this since I’ve been walking? _

Orpheus pressed his head between his hands and shook the thoughts out. Too many voices, too many doubts. All he had was the hope she was in there waiting for him and that he would find her at last, and by the gods he was going to chase that hope or die trying.

He took a deep breath.

He opened the door and entered, leaving the world up top behind.


	2. Get to the Bottomland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orpheus didn't know what quite he expected from the facility, but whatever it was, this isn't it. But he does catch on quickly -- he better wise up, keep his head up, eyes open, ears tuned. And he better move fast, or something faster with catch up to him.

Perhaps he had been expecting something...more. But it just looked like the lobby of an office building. He supposed that made sense, but Orpheus knew there had to be something more sinister here. 

For one thing, the place was deserted. For a second, it was quiet. Worse, thirdly, was that it wasn’t  _ silent _ . 

_ A giant building, _ Orpheus thought, stepping around quietly and cautiously.  _ And not a soul around. But if it’s so empty then why do I hear--? _

There was a creak, a groan, some far away rumbling of metal grinding and shuddering, as if alive. Like it was breathing. The steady hum of electricity buried deep within the walls, beneath his feet, like a heartbeat. As if the very air was alive around him.

He had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Orpheus stepped around the pitifully abandoned office plants and disheveled desk, slipping to the back, where he found a corridor. Following it, he passed nothing without examining: a water cooler long drained of its contents, a cheap painting fallen from the wall and half broken in its frame on the floor, a locked door he busted open only to find a completely vacant office.

So he kept walking.

And at the end of the hallway, there was a door. A push bar. A sign that read “ **Authorized personnel only** .”

He stopped, and pondered this for a moment.

_ I’m not authorized for anything _ , he realized. Then, after a beat:  _ But who’s going to stop me? _

He shoved open the door and kept walking.

* * *

Beyond that door was a world he hadn’t expected to see. It shut behind him and latched with a click, sealing behind all he knew for longer than he would know.

The hallway dissolved into metal catwalks in before him, lined with railings that held him back from a long,  _ long _ drop. Peering over the edge made him nauseous. He couldn’t even see the bottom; it was nothing but hazy blue fog and darkness after so far. Had he anything to throw, he would’ve thrown it down and waited for its echo after hitting the floor, if there even  _ was  _ one. He wasn’t convinced there would be.

Up above were long, snaking tubes transporting who-knows-what. A skylit roof, with beams of morning sunlight streaming in through the haze, casting broad, weblike shadows around the space. How long would it be before he would see that sunlight again?

Leaning as much over the railing as he dared, Orpheus braced one hand on the cold metal and cupped the other round his mouth. He called out, a wailing sort of call. “Eurydice?” he sang. 

“Eurydice?” the facility echoed back, quieter and stuttering. It reverberated off the walls in a lonely and empty way.

“Where are you?” Orpheus cried. Naught but his echo answered again.

Well, the catwalk only led in one direction. That was where he was going to go.

* * *

Orpheus wasn’t sure if he’d ever been somewhere that felt like this before. It was quiet, but buzzing. Empty, but crowding. His sandals on the metal rang out with creaking, groaning sounds, like no one had walked there for half a decade or more. The dust he kicked up was no comfort either. Eventually, looking backwards, he could no longer see the door through which he’d entered. All around him was a vague darkness. Still, he called out. Every so often. Every hundred yards or so. He’d call her name, he’d ask for her to come out, to wait, to know he’s there. And sometimes he couldn’t. Sometimes he simply hummed to himself, sang a tune under his breath. A work song, a walking song, to keep him going. He started out quietly, but then he realized again: _Who’s going to stop me? _And so he sang out, sang loud, a wailing duet between himself and his echo, a canon of his own invention.

It was almost magical.

Until someone else chimed in. Some _ thing _ else, anyway.

No one else would have noticed it, surely. A distant humming, it would have blended in so easily to the ambient noises of the building. Almost drowned out by his own song.  But his ear was a fine one, it picked up on sounds most others would miss. He picked up on notes.

Between phrases of his tune, he paused. The reverberating of the walls trailed off. Someone kept going. 

A single note, quiet but steadily  _ there _ , a humming tone ringing from somewhere in the fog. He squinted out, trying to find its location.  There were whirring sounds now, too, and the subtle but methodical clinking on metal on metal, hard and hollow plastics. And still that humming.  A clear and perfectly, impossibly, inhumanly in-tune note.

And then, in the distance, a small red light appeared.

Orpheus began to run. The humming and the bullets chased after him.

* * *

Orpheus had never been much of an athlete, but with good long legs and a bloodstream full of adrenaline he surely could move. And move he did; that terrifying humming followed him along with its piercing red glare, sharp and distinct even above the roaring percussion of gunfire, the metal shuddering under the impact of dozens and hundreds of little projectiles and pounding feet. He raced along, only barely avoiding a stumble here, a crash there, a deadly bullet in his leg. 

Suddenly the catwalk ended. Metal wrought sharply and suddenly to a halt, a drop into the nothingness below. There was nowhere else to run. But no time to think, either. Orpheus ran until there was no more ground on which to run. 

His foot caught the edge of the platform, and he leapt, a blind and hopeful jump, a true leap of faith. 

There was a platform several feet below, he thanked his lucky stars above. He slammed into it, all his weight speeding forward, and he rolled and tumbled to a stop. The shots ceased as that piercing red light disappeared; the humming trailed into nothingness, silence again. 

Laying on that catwalk, Orpheus curled into himself, shuddering like the metal beneath him. He shook and trembled, locked in his fetal position until the roaring of blood quieted in his ears, the pounding of his heart softened in his chest. He fought the urge to sob, fearing the sound would alert whatever hellish creature had rained hail upon him already.

* * *

Eternities passed in the span of those few moments he spent on the catwalk. Groping for the railing he pulled himself up, willing his legs to be steady when he finally stood. He looked back up, at the platform from whence he came. Several feet up and several feet out. 

_ I guess I’m not getting out that way, _ he thought.  _ Looks like I’m stuck here for a while. _

He forced a deep breath, faced forward again. One step after another. It was harder, now, knowing that something lurked in the darkness with him. But Eurydice was out there, somewhere. And he was going to find her or die trying.

* * *

He walked on, more slowly, carefully this time. More quietly. Ever aware of how loud and exposed the sound of his sandals were on the metal, ever aware of his breaths. In and out. In, and out. He kept his hand on the railing, falling still as a statue and gripping it til his knuckles turned white at every stray sound he didn’t recognize. And when it passed sufficiently, he kept going.

At one point, there was a new sound. A mechanical grinding, like gears turning and a pulley rolling along. The electric buzz of computers. It wasn’t too far away. And it was getting closer.

Orpheus crouched, gripping the rail as tight as he could. He made himself small and compact, invisible if not for being the only human to walk these corridors in gods-know-how-long. 

Was there possibly anything worse for the boy than to journey where his song painted a target on his back?


	3. A Man with Feathers on his Feet

“Wh- hey, you,” said a voice. It crackled slightly around the edges as though through a radio. “How did you get way the hell out here?”

Orpheus felt the warmth of a spotlight on his neck. He craned his neck up, just slightly, to look, with fear in his eyes. He found not a man, not a person at all, but an odd metal ball hooked into a rail running above the catwalk. It stared back at him with a digital green eye, casting a halo of light around him in the relative darkness of the facility. Orpheus fell back, afraid. “Don’t shoot,” he choked out, holding his hands up. “Please.”

“I ain’t gonna--” the robot said, its optic and shutters adjusting to give the impression of a squint. “--oh. Ohhhh.” Its optic widened again, and it moved backwards along its rail slightly. “Oh, gods, you ain’t supposed to be here.”

A little shakily, Orpheus grabbed the railing and pulled himself to his feet. “Wait, what do you mean?” The core moved like a person would shake their head. 

“Brother, you’re a long way from home.” The robot flipped itself around, looking for something. “How did you even _ get _here?” It looked back at him, squinting again.

“I, uh, I walked,” Orpheus replied, nervous. 

“You _ walked?” _ Orpheus nodded. “Well it’s ‘bout time you _ walk _on outta here again. I can show you out, if we’re quick then he won’t fin--”

“No,” Orpheus interrupted, surprising them both with some mustered courage. “I have to- I need to find someone.”

“No?” The core had been moving forward along its rail, past Orpheus, but stopped and turned back to look at him. “You can’t _ stay _here, boy. You better leave--”

“I’m not going without her.” Orpheus gripped the railing, squeezing it with his fingers.

“Ain’t nobody here to find. You gotta--”

“I know she’s here,” he insisted, voice trembling. “I _ know _ it. I can’t leave without her.”

“Her?”

There were stars in the boy’s eyes. “Eurydice. My-- my wi-- my fiancee. She’s here. I know it.”

The core was quiet and looked at him carefully. Procedures and relays fired in his processors like synapses. The name was familiar...he knew why. “It ain’t for the sensitive of soul…” The robot sighed (robots could sigh?). “You really wanna go?”

Orpheus pursed his lips and nodded. “With all my heart.”

“With all your heart...well, that’s a start.”

* * *

The core lead the way down the catwalks and through the labyrinthine corridors of the facility, with Orpheus following behind. Already, he felt completely lost, disoriented, like he’d fallen through the looking glass into a separate reality entirely. He hadn’t a clue how anybody was meant to keep track of where they were, how anybody was able to not get lost here.

“Where are we going, again?” he asked after a while. Without stopping its motion, the core flipped itself around to look at him. 

“Gotta get you some boots,” it explained, flicking its light down at the boy’s feet. Orpheus looked down himself.

“What’s wrong with my sandals?”

“What’s wrong with y--? _ Gods _, you’re gonna get yourself killed if it wasn’t for me,” the robot replied, facing forward again. Orpheus frowned, offended and concerned. 

“What?”

“You need _ real _ footwear, brother. HadesTech Talarian Long Fall Boots,” the core explained like a sales pitch on infomercial television. “Much better than the old spring-loaded knee braces, if you ask me. You can just about fall any distance you’d like in them and you’ll land just fine -- as long as you land on your feet, that is.”

“Uh...why do I need those?”

The robot shot him another look. “Take a guess.” Orpheus swallowed the lump in his throat. The robot sighed again and the expression in its optic softened a little. “Sorry. Don’t mean to scare ya. But it’ll be a whole lot easier this way. You’ll need all the help you can get.” 

“Thank you, uh...” He said, bright-eyed, still trying to get himself to believe that this was happening.

“Hermes,” the core offered. “Call me Hermes.” It -- _ he _ flipped back around, facing forward again. On the back of his chassis Orpheus could make out a label, printed in small but bold letters next to the familiar HadesTech logo, and another logo which looked almost like a winged staff, a caduceus. Human Enrichment and Relaxation Manager, Escort, and Sentry.

“Thank you, Mister Hermes.”

“Yeah. Sure thing, kid.”

“Orpheus.” 

“Alright, Orpheus,” Hermes repeated, rolling to a stop in front of a door. He looked back down to the human and inclined a motion towards it. Orpheus turned the knob and opened the door, opening into a large, dark storage closet of some kind. He stood in the doorway and marveled for a brief second, while Hermes rolled in on his rail and shone his light around. “Let’s see. Gotta be a pair ‘round here somewhere…” 

Orpheus gently walked through the room, brushing his fingers along the shelves half-empty or scattered with broken bits and junk, or else unrecognizable things which he didn’t want to mess with. He left trails in the dust; the particles danced in the still, stale air when they passed through Hermes’ spotlight. 

“Ah, here we go,” Hermes broke the silence after a few long minutes of searching. “C’mon over.” Orpheus did as he was told. “...What are you wearing.”

He looked down at himself. “A lab coat...?”

“Where did you get that.”

“Uh. Around.” 

“Why.”

Orpheus didn’t have an answer for that one. 

Hermes sighed, sounding a bit exasperated. “Whatever. There should be a pair of boots in here,” he said, redirecting his light to a large shoebox on the shelf. Orpheus pulled it down and sat on the floor, removing the top. Inside was indeed a pair of boots, quite unlike any he’d ever seen before: hard white and grey reinforcement all up the sides, with a sturdy yet flexible sole to accommodate acrobatics while maintaining a supported arch and an elevated heel, and a stiff black toe. The most unusual aspect of the boot was the spring on the back, which curved out and under the bottom of the sole. 

He removed a sandal and shoved his foot in, lashing the black buckle straps tight around his shin. He made a face as his toes were squeezed together. “They don’t fit,” he commented.

“They’re supposed to be snug.”

“They’re too tight, Mister Hermes, I can’t wear these,” Orpheus insisted, looking up at the robot. He tried to wiggle his toes inside the boot but couldn’t. “My foot is squished.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

Orpheus made an uneasy face and put the other boot on, then tried to stand up. He wobbled and immediately stumbled forward, having to catch and brace himself against the shelves. He had never been much one for confining footwear, preferring his sandals in all weather but for the coldest months, and had never even attempted to stand in heels before. These talaria were odd, and uncomfortable; they forced him to stand as though in stilettos, without the supporting post beneath the heel. The reinforcement in the arch and the stiff spring made up for the lack of a true heel support. But for Orpheus, who couldn’t remember the last time he wore a boot, wore any shoe that wasn’t completely flat at all, it was terribly uncomfortable and nearly impossible to balance, let alone walk, in. He tried to take a few shakey steps, still holding onto the shelves as though for dear life, and struggled to find balance, struggled against his feet already beginning to throb with pain. 

“Mister Hermes, I can’t wear these,” he said again, less complaining and more pleading. “They don’t fit.”

“Doubt we’ll find another pair, brother.”

“I can’t walk in them.”

“Take some time to practice.” Orpheus looked upset. “You wanna make it here? Make it out alive?” The boy nodded. “Then you’ve got to figure it out, make it work. You don’t stand a chance without them.”

Orpheus looked back down at his feet and took a deep breath. His legs were tired and strained already, but...he really didn’t have an option, did he?

* * *

After perhaps an hour or two of practice, Orpheus felt he finally began to get the hang of the talaria. It took great trial and error, and a lot of falling on his knees and ass, but he figured out how to balance on his toes, the balls of his feet, how to rock back on the spring beneath the heel to take a step, how to walk without falling over. His legs still wobbled, but less so now. He couldn’t move very fast, or with too much confidence, but at least he could move.

“You ready to go?” Hermes asked, trundling back in on his rail. While Orpheus had been practicing, the core had went off to search the warehouse for something else. 

“I think so.”

“Good. That’s good news...bad news is we’re gonna have to keep searchin’ for the next thing you’ll need, and that could be tougher. Sure you’re up for it?”

Orpheus pressed his lips together and nodded with some determination. His legs were already aching from the strain of the boots, feet already moving past pain into numbness, but he ignored it all.

“Alright. Let’s keep goin’.” Hermes began to roll out.

“Wait-- Mister Hermes, my sandals.” Orpheus bent down to pick them up off the floor, still next to the now-empty shoebox. 

“Leave ‘em. You won’t need ‘em anymore, those talaria should last you as long as you do. And you won’t wanna be carryin’ them around, I suspect.”

Orpheus frowned and looked down at the sandals in his hands. They were favorites of his, always comfy even after a good deal of walking. But...maybe Hermes was right. They weren’t suited to someplace like this, wherever and whatever this place was. 

He sighed and set them down on the floor, neatly tucked against the shelve. Then he turned and rocked on his new heels, setting out to follow Hermes out the warehouse and into the labyrinth once more. Maybe soon he could pass through here again, collect them on his way out, Eurydice by his side. He could hope, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Talaria" are the winged sandals worn by Hermes in actual Greek mythology. Obviously he isn't the one wearing them here, but I thought it made a nice connection with the long fall boots in the game.
> 
> We'll have to wait and see if my penchant for naming works and chapters by applicable lyrics holds out as this continues.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired especially by my friends Ren and Ket. Thanks guys!


End file.
